Dental plate brush



March 13, 1934. s. c. GRAFINGER DENTAL PLATE, BRUSH Filed Aug. 5, 1933 INVENTOR Sign/Ian C Grafi'nyez 1 :9

Patented Mar. 13, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

This invention relates to brushes and more particularly to brushes adapted to be used in cleaning dental plates.

It is an object of my invention to provide a 8 brush which is easy to use and which will clean a' dental plate efficiently.

A further object of the invention is to provide a brush which will easily reach all parts of a dental plate.

Another object of the invention is to provide a brush of the type referred to, which is simple in construction and free from crevices in which dirt and foreign matter can lodge.

A further object of the invention is to proll vide a brush of the type referred to, which is attractive in appearance.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved dental plate brush which is simple in construction, durable, and inexpensive to 10 manufacture.

A further object of the invention is to provide a brush of the type referred to having portions adapted to clean both the inner and outer faces of the teeth in a dental plate.

Other objects of the invention and features of novelty will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the brush pro- 80 vided by my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the brush shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the brush shown in Fig. 1;

ll Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the brush while being used to clean the outer face of the teeth of a dental plate;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the brush being employed to clean the recess in the back 40 of a dental plate for the lower jaw;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary plan view of the brush and dental plate shown in Fig. 5, and showing the brush being employed to clean the curved recess in the back of the dental plate.

5 Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken substantially from the plane 7-7 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary elevational view showing the brush being employed to clean the upper face of a dental plate for the upper jaw; and

Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the dental plate shown in Fig. 8 and showing the brush being employed to clean the recessed portions in the upper face of the plate.

Referring to the drawing, it will be seen that the brush provided by my invention has a handle, which is indicated generally by the reference character 1, and which is preferably proportioned so as to afford a convenient-grip for the hand of the user. The handle has rigidly secured at one end thereof a brush head comprising a pair of generally rectangular bristle sections and including a principal bristle section indicated generally at 2, and a secondary bristle section indicated generally at 3.

Each of the bristle sections comprises a relatively rigid back portion, indicated at 4 and 5, and which are preferably formed integral with the handle 1, the handle projecting from one end of the back portion 4 of the principal section 2, the secondary bristle section being secured to the other end of the back portion of the principal section, arid the bristle sections and the handle being angularly disposed relative to each other, as is best shown in Fig. 3 of the (5 drawing, the bristles being on the relatively convexly disposed outer faces of the back portions,

4 and 5.

The bristle sections 2 and 3 are of unequal size, the principal section 2 being slightly wider and longer and provided with a greater number of bristles than the secondary section 3. The secondary section 3 is proportioned so that it will easily fit within the curved channel form recesses in the back of a dental plate, as is shown in Figs. 5, 6 and l, to clean the inner surfaces thereof, as will be more fully described below.

The bristles in the sections 2 and 3 may be secured to the backs 4 and 5 in any well known manner, and may be of the same length, or they may be of different lengths, and may be of the same degree of stiffness, or of different degrees of stiffness.

The handle and the backs 4 and 5 of the ill bristle sections 2 and 3 are preferably constructed as an integral body, and in the preferred embodiment of the invention, are molded from a suitable plastic composition which is impervious to water, such as celluloid. The handle and the backs of the bristle sections 2 and 3 are preferably of large enough cross-section so as not to bend or flex easily when the brush is used vigorously. This produces a brush which is attractive in appearance and is easy to keep clean as it is free of cracks or crevices in which dirt may lodge, and which can be constructed inexpensively.

The operation of the brush will be best understood by reference to Figs. 4 to 9 of the drawing,

where it willbe seen that the secondary bristle section 3, that is, the one spaced from the handle, because of its width and length and its angular portion relative to the other parts of the brush and the gap or space between the bristles of the sections 2 and 3, is adapted to fit into and properly clean the inner face of the teeth of a dental plate, as well as the channeled depressions between the teeth and the central or intermediate portion of the dental plate.

The section 3 is narrow enough and short enough and the bristles thereof are long enough so that when it is applied to the concave curved or arcuate gum receiving channels of an average adult size dental plate, the bristles reach the bottom of the channel; and the gap between its bristles and those of the adjacent section 2 provides a space into which the edge of the channel may project so that the channel does not interfere with the free scrubbing movement of the bristles of the section 2 on the channel bottom surfaces. This is further facilitated by the angular disposition of the section 2 which elevates its bristles above the adjacent parts or channel edges of the plate while the channel bottom and side thereof are being scrubbed.

It will also be seen that the larger or principal bristle section adjacent the handle may be made large as desired for the unrestricted vigorous scrubbing of the outer or more convex portions of the plate and the teeth thereon.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the dental plate brush provided by my invention is cfficient in operation, having bristle portions adapted to reach all parts of the dental plate. It will also be seen that the brush is simple in construction and is free from crevices in which dirt and foreign matter can lodge so that the brush can easily be kept clean.

While the preferred embodiment of the brush has been described and illustrated in detail, it should be understood that many changes may be made Without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, this is what I claim:

1. A dental plate brush comprising a bristle supporting back, a group of bristles extending from one side thereof and providing an elongated scrubbing surface at the end of the bristles, the bristles being of such length and the scrubbing surface being of restricted width and length to permit the bristle ends to engage and scrub the bottoms of'the gum receiving arcuate channels of an average size adult dental plate without engagement of the bristle supporting back with the channel edges, the back extending beyond the bristles and adapted to overlap the said scrubbing surface, and a gap between the bristleson the first and second groups adapted to straddle an outer plate channel edge when the first bristle group is on said channel bottom, and an elongated handle extending from the said extended back for supporting and manipulating the brushes and disposed at an angle greater than 180 with the second scrubbing surface.

2. A dental plate brush as described in claim 1 and in which the two bristle scrubbing surfaces are each disposed substantially in a plane and the two planes intersecting in a convex dihedral angle greater than 180.

3. A dental plate brush as described in claim 1 and in which the second scrubbing surface is larger than the first described surface.

4. A dental plate brush comprising a bristle supporting back, a group of bristles extending from one side thereof and providing an elongated scrubbing surface at the end of the bristles, the bristles being of suchlength and the scrubbing surface being of restricted width and length to permit the bristle ends to engage and scrub the bottoms of the gum receiving arcuate channels of an average size adult dental plate without engagement of the bristle supporting back with the channel edges, the back extending beyond the bristles and adapted to overlap the said channel edges of the plate when the said surface is on the channel bottom, a second group of bristles on the extended back, the ends of which define a second scrubbing surface disposed at an angle greater than 180 with the first described scrubbing surface, and a gap between the bristles of the first and second groups adapted to straddle an outer plate channel edge when the first bristle group is on said channel bottom, and an elongated handle extending from the said extended back for supporting and manipulating the brushes.

STEPHAN C. GRAFINGER. 

